Stay Home Daddy: I Was Reborn After My Daughter Passed Away
Chapter 352: Three hundred fifty-two you are not worthy_1

Chapter 352: Three hundred fifty-two you are not worthy_1

A month later, at the headquarters building of the Xu Corporation.

The once bustling and busy scenes no longer existed.

The building, which used to be crowded and noisy, was now eerily empty, with just a few elevators running normally.

In this building, only a few employees remained, all looking hurried as they packed their belongings.

Once, just mentioning that they worked at the Xu Corporation filled them with a pride that came from within.

Now, they only wished they had two more legs, so they could run faster,

afraid that staying any longer would somehow saddle them with an unpayable debt.

"Sir, why did everyone suddenly leave? Don’t they work here anymore?"

Standing in front of the corporation headquarters, Gu Chen’s face displayed a leisurely calmness as he spoke unhurriedly to the last remaining security guard.

"Alas, don’t mention it. I heard it was because the boss made a wrong decision and crossed someone he shouldn’t have.

All of the Xu Corporation’s business has been taken away, and they owe a huge debt. Even the shareholders have pulled out their investments, and it’s said they’re suing the former chairman, trying to send him to jail."

The more the old man spoke, the graver his expression became. "Last month, it was still a big company, but this month they can’t even pay salaries. What else can these people do but run? Even today is my last day at work."

He couldn’t help but click his tongue, as if lamenting the unpredictability of the world.

Gu Chen just nodded lightly in response, feeling neither joy nor sorrow about it.

Taking one last glance at the chaotic office building in front of him, he strode in.

It wasn’t until he entered the interior of the building that he realized the situation was far worse than he had imagined.

A look around the various offices revealed scenes reminiscent of being looted numerous times.

Desks, chairs, and all the office equipment that should have been there were gone.

Even some of the light bulbs on the ceiling had been taken down.

This sort of scene was not unusual in this era, after all, people back then weren’t as clever as they would be later on, the most they could think of doing was to sell things for money.

Gu Chen did not linger on this but instead took the elevator all the way up to the top floor of the Xu Corporation’s offices.

As he pushed open the doors of the office, an empty bottle of red wine immediately rolled to his feet.

Gu Chen looked up to find Xu Qingmu, his face a picture of desolation, sitting in the CEO’s office leather chair.

His face, untended for so long, was covered in untidy stubble.

The large desk was littered with various empty bottles, and his gaze was somewhat vacant.

Largely ignoring the sudden, uninvited guest, he continued to guzzle the liquor, looking quite disheveled.

"Another visitor? What are you here to take this time? Just help yourself. Just leave me the booze, and once you’re done, get the hell out!"

Xu Qingmu, without even looking up, irritably yelled at the empty bottles in front of him.

After speaking, his gaze involuntarily fell on the photograph he was tightly clutching in his hand,

and tears of regret immediately welled up in his eyes.

In the photograph, Ji Pianran was clinging to her father, Ji Guangsheng’s arm, standing in front of the camera with a beaming smile.

The man not far from her was wearing a smart, high-end suit, looking both handsome and dashing,

gazing at Ji Pianran with a look of complete adoration and fascination, as if his tender feelings might brim over at any moment.

Seeing this image, Xu Qingmu felt an acute, soul-deep heartache.

Since Ji Pianran had left him, during these years, he constantly thought of her, yearning for her.

Even his mind would occasionally be filled with memories of the times they had spent together.

If he could do it all over again, he would give up everything he had just for her forgiveness.

If he could do it all over again, he now wished that time could reverse itself by a decade or so.

Even if he had only one day left to live, as long as he could see Ji Pianran once more, he would die content.

But reality ran counter to his wishes.

The more he wanted to keep Ji Pianran by his side, the more he sought to control everything about her.

He had never wanted something so badly in his life; this longing was driving him to the brink of madness.

However, the more he wanted her, the farther Ji Pianran drifted from him, and the more isolated he became.

Xu Qingmu didn’t know how to make amends to Ji Pianran, whom he had hurt.

He was even more clueless about how to mend her broken heart.

At this moment, having lost everything, he could only wait alone in this towering building.

"Pian Ran, I’m sorry, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have pressured you like that, Pian Ran, please come back and look at me once more. You don’t understand how much I love you, whether it was in the past, now, or in the future, I have never changed, Pian Ran, I truly made a mistake."

Tears filled his eyes, gradually falling onto the photo he held in his hands.

Gu Chen watched Xu Qingmu’s performance in silence.

She couldn’t help wondering, could such a ruthless man really have moments of weakness?

Perhaps what pained him the most now was his utter lack of any ability to continue manipulating others to his will.

With a scoff, Gu Chen then spoke lightly.

"Xu Qingmu, do you still recognize me?" Hearing this, Xu Qingmu finally looked up in a daze.

Although this was their first meeting,

he recognized the person standing before him at a glance.

The one who fueled his jealousy, who drove him insane,

whom he had resented day and night, wishing he could rip him to pieces.

"It’s you, Gu Chen!!!"

Xu Qingmu spat out these three words through gritted teeth.

At that moment, he looked like a wounded beast.

"When you plotted against the Ji Family and sent people to cripple my limbs on the street, did you, Chairman Xu, ever think you would end up like this today?" Gu Chen asked mockingly.

Upon hearing Gu Chen’s words, Xu Qingmu was momentarily stunned before his gaze filled with anger and resentment.

"Gu Chen, don’t get too cocky. I’m telling you, even if you’re Ji Pianran’s husband, what of it? I’m telling you, one day I’ll make you pay, Ji Pianran will always be mine, she’s mine!"

Gu Chen couldn’t help laughing, then suddenly grabbed Xu Qingmu by the collar.

She slammed him against the wall, bellowing, "Xu Qingmu, don’t you understand? You were the one who ruined the relationship between the Xu Family and the Ji Family. And it was you who drove Pian Ran away. Don’t talk about how you’ve lost everything now. Even if you were still the chairman of Xu Corporation, Pian Ran would never marry you!"

"Not in this lifetime, nor the next, never!!!!"

She emphasized the word ’never’ with particular force.

Hearing this, despair finally emerged in Xu Qingmu’s eyes.

And Gu Chen, as if discarding trash, threw him aside.

She reached for the photo of Ji Pianran from his hand and said coldly.

"Xu Qingmu, you’re not worthy!"

This was a photo of her wife; Xu Qingmu was undeserving of holding it!